U2-L1: Intro to Psychology and Psychoanalytical Theory Flashcards
What is Psychology?
It is a social science that is the scientific study of the human mind, human behaviour, and mental conditions.
What are the five main approaches to western psychology?
Psychoanalytical, Behaviourist, Humanism, Cognitive, and Biological Psychology
What is the psychoanalytical theory?
the unconscious struggles of the mind determine how personality develops and dictates behaviour
Who has it founded by and what did he propose?
It was founded by Sigmund Freud and he proposed that personality and behaviour are the outcomes of continual conflicts in the mind. The individual is not aware of this b/c it takes place at a subconscious level.
What are the three parts of the human consciousness?
EGO: the rational part of our mind and operates on the reality principle - it tries to suppress the Id
ID: the instinctual part of the mind which is run by the pleasure principle
SUPEREGO: the moral centre of the mind - acts as the mind’s conscience
What does Freud believe personality results from?
It is a result of the EGO’s efforts to resolve being able to satisfy the needs of the impulsive ID and the moral SUPEREGO.
Are we born with these?
ID is present at birth, newborns are selfish. EGO is developed by the age of 3 as a child becomes aware that other people have feelings and that it can’t always have its own way. SUPEREGO appears around the age give - sense of morality (conscience) passed on by parents - child internalizes it
Explain Freud’s Psychosexual Stages.
He believed that personality developed from five psychosexual stages involving both sexuality and mental processes. At each stage, a person’s mind is focused on a different aspect of sexuality. He believed that psychosexual stages trigger a battle between biology and social expectations and the mind must resolve this conflict before a person can come on to come a healthy mental development
What are defence mechanisms and some examples?
People will subconsciously have defence mechanisms when they are faced with anxiety or unpleasant emotions. These mechanisms help them cope. The EGO uses a defence mechanism to help people reach a mental compromise. Examples are denial, displacement, repression, regression, intellectualization and projection.
